My birthday here was one I'll not soon forget. It was a Friday, so I still had to teach but Anna made sure that our students knew what the day was. She gave me a birthday sticker, which all the kids tried to steal, and during her class she helped them make me a birthday card. It really was so cute to have them sing and wish me a happy birthday. At one point I asked my students how old they thought I was- five, fourteen, and sixteen were the first replies. Then one kid had it figured out: eleventeen! He was sure of it, until another kid told him "no teen".... then he started rocking me like a baby. Yes, my first day as an adult and I was rocked and sung "I'm bringing home a baby bumblebee won't my mommy be so proud of me..."
The poster my kids made me
Some of the kids in our class
After class I was whisked away by Tiffany and Shaw to get my hair washed, while everyone else went to Kung-Fu.
The birthday bus
We went first to pick up our train ticket to Beijing, and on the way we found a pineapple lady, and not just any pineapple lady... the ULTIMATE PINEAPPLE LADY!
Yay Pineapple!
They had a truck full of pineapple and you go and pick out the one you want. We see pineapple ladies on the street sometimes and you can get a half a pineapple for 1 yuan- which 6 yuan is equal to one American dollar. It's our favorite find- but this one was amazing 5 yuan for 3 whole ones, and we even got to watch them peel it. A great find after never knowing how they carve them- and they were yummy.
Digging out the skin in a swirly pattern
We then went to get our hair done. This is one thing that America needs to adopt, it's amazing. This is not just any hair wash- they lay you down on a table with your head in the sink. Then then wash twice and then condition- but it takes about 15 minutes to a half hour- and they are massaging the whole time. It is lovely, heavenly, and just plain good. They even massage your arms and back when they are done with your head. Cost of this heavenly treatment you might ask? 15 yuan= $2.50 and we're not even done yet. After the wash they also style your hair, this being one of the only times my hair is totally straightened and looks like it would back home. It felt so good and so nice to be pampered on my birthday.
Can you see the excitement on my face?!
Andrea showed up at that point and we got a smoothie and waited for the bus to take us to Pizza Hut. Everyone had been telling me the head honchos of ILP were coming that night so Pizza Hut was the meeting place. We went shopping until the bus came, and I decided I was going to treat myself some shoes for my birthday. Though after searching that day, I have decided to wait until after our trip to Beijing to see if I want some from there.
At Pizza Hut- these are our excited faces.
At Pizza Hut the truth came out about the night- it was a surprise... everyone was there and we were actually going to KTV to sing Karaoke. This isn't any Karaoke, this is Chinese style so full out party singing along to songs. It was fun, all of my group was there plus our Chinese coordinators and our guard friend. We had a chocolate cake- topped with lots of fruit and it had a wafer-like crunchy in the middle. I got a beautiful birthday visor and tiara for my birthday and some deliciously missed American cheese.
It was a fun day ending back home watching the new movie The Backup Plan. I was also able to talk to my family, wish my dad a happy birthday too, and got to talk to my favorite little men- my nephews.
My tiara
It was a wonderful birthday, and I was treated so well by everyone and felt really special. It feels great to be twenty, and "no teen" anymore!
Two-zero
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